BREAKDOWN—The emergence of Alec Burks

The start of the season was nothing short of a nightmare for Alec Burks. He could never find a rhythm. He was shuffled between shooting guard and point guard. He was supposed to be the off-the-bench scorer. Instead, he became an offensive eyesore where nothing was clicking.

Then the other half of the B and B team, Trey Burke, returned to the lineup. Alec got to stay in one position. The coaches have been able to let Alec play in a more natural position and make plays from better spots on the floor.

Over the last eight games, Alec Burks is shooting 52%, he is 9-of-13 from three and he is averaging 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

What has really changed is where the shots are coming from.

Here is Alec Burks’ shot distribution chart for the last eight games (games 17-24):

Here is Alec Burks’ shot distribution chart for games 1-16:

Check out the highlighted area—prior to this recent stretch, 36% of his shots were mid-range shots. In the last eight games he has taken just 16% of his shots from this inefficient area. Moreover, in the last eight games he has taken 51% of his shots in the restricted area—previous to that he took just 35% in the restricted area.